


Thang

by ShivaeSyke



Series: Blackwood Confidential [2]
Category: Black Rose (Webcomic), Strange Magic (2015)
Genre: Attempted Kidnapping, Gen, Implied/Referenced Child Abuse, Were-Creatures
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2019-10-24
Updated: 2019-10-24
Packaged: 2021-01-02 16:44:38
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: Creator Chose Not To Use Archive Warnings
Chapters: 1
Words: 2,066
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/21164864
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/ShivaeSyke/pseuds/ShivaeSyke
Summary: A couple of years before the events in The House on the Corner, Bog has to deal with a problem that has arrived in his town.  Some situations he personally deals with.... in fangs and fury.





	Thang

**Author's Note:**

> A few days ago this one popped into my head, because Thang is a very unique character and I didn't have as much opportunity as I wanted to show them. So how Thang ended up in Bog's town and why he's in such bad shape compared to everyone else is this... poor kid. But now he has Bog looking out for him. :D

September was colder than usual. Bog was wearing a heavy black sweater and black sweat pants to keep the chill away. He peered through the porch window at the rain. It had been falling steadily for hours with no sign of letting up. The wind was blowing, and it sounded cold. Bog had the fireplace going in the living room and was comfortable inside with his mother.

  
A small short figure came walking slowly down his sidewalk. Whoever it was, was alone and shuffled his or her way past Bog’s house. Bog scowled, unsure who it could be and why they didn’t have an umbrella or a raincoat. The kid was wearing a tattered dark green hoodie that didn’t seem to offer much in the way of protection. His blue jeans were torn and dirty. His sneakers were soaked and worn.

  
Bog assumed the kid was a boy by his walk. “Mom.” Bog turned away from the window. “Come here a moment.” The boy had turned and was walking back in front of Bog’s house. He paused and looked at their home, then kept walking.

  
“Huh. What is he doing out there in the rain like that?” Zelda joined her son and squinted through the blinds. The kid turned and walked back. He seemed unable to decide if he should come up to the house or not.

  
“It’s a stray.” Bog groaned. “Can you go get towels and warm up something hot for him to eat. I’ll go get him.” Strays happened. They were wayward and lost Lyceans. They were often children that found their way to Bog’s doorstep if they passed close enough to his town to pick up on him. They got one every few months. Few were as anxious as this one seemed to be.

  
Bog grumbled, grabbing an umbrella and preparing to go out and brave the heavy rain. Hopefully, the kid wouldn’t run, because then he was going to have to chase him down.

  
The kid stood there, slumped over with his hands in his pockets when Bog left the house and approached him. He said nothing and shivered in the rain. Bog walked up to him slowly. “What are ye doing out here without a raincoat or an umbrella?”

  
The boy didn’t respond, standing in the rain and shaking as water streamed over his small form. Bog sighed and stopped next to him, holding his umbrella over him to shield him. “Come inside, Kid. We’ll get ye dried off and something warm to eat.” Bog tentatively touched the boy on the shoulder. The kid looked up with wide, frightened eyes. “It’s okay.” Bog winced at the kid’s face. It was swollen and bruised, and his eyes were bloodshot. “Come inside.” Bog slid his hand behind the kid’s shoulder, pushing him gently to get him to move.

  
The boy took a step, swayed, and then began to fall. Bog grabbed him before he could hit the ground and picked him up. The boy whimpered as Bog held him under one arm and carried him back to his house. Bog was trying to be gentle. The kid weighed nothing. Through his tattered clothes, Bog could feel he was bone thin. “Yer safe here. Nobody is going to harm ye.”

-=-=-=-=-

Bog got him inside and dried him off with his mother's assistance, then Zelda made him take a quick, warm shower and dress in some of Bog’s old clothes. They swallowed the frail boy.

  
Bog stared at the boy as he hungrily ate the bowl of soup Zelda had prepared for him. “Do ye have a name?” Bog couldn’t keep calling him kid. It seemed so impersonal, and Bog felt like he should be saying his name. Strays did show up with injuries, but this kid was the worst he had ever seen. Someone had beaten him. There were large bruises all over his body, cuts, and scrapes. He was a Lycean, so it should have healed, but it looked like he had been starved on top of everything else.

  
“Would you like more soup?” Zelda offered, seeing the bowl was almost empty. The boy nodded in reply. “What is your name, Child?” In response, he motioned to his throat, where there was a clear imprint of fingers.

  
“Would you like me to heal ye?” Bog offered. “I didn’t want to do it without asking ye first. Ye don’t have the energy to do it yerself.” The boy nodded shyly at Bog. His eyes drifted into opposite directions, then refocused on the refilled bowl.

  
Bog got up and walked behind him. Some strays had to be treated with more care than others. The bruises were superficial. If he had a broken bone or was bleeding out, then Bog would not have asked. Bog asked to let the kid know that he wasn’t being forced into anything and to make him more comfortable. Bog laid his hand on the boy’s shoulder and did a health scan. The bruises were a small part of what was wrong with the boy. He had broken ribs and various other minor problems caused by malnutrition.

  
“Mom. I’m going to need a bowl too. This is going to take a lot of energy.” Bog began speaking, running his fingertips over the boy. Golden light emanated beneath them, erasing the bruises wherever they touched. “My name is Bogdan, Kid, ye can call me Bog. That’s my mother, Zelda.”

  
“You can call me, Mom.” Bog’s mother grinned, bringing over a glass of water and a couple of biscuits.

  
“Th-Thang.” The boy smiled, reaching out for a biscuit. “Th-thank you.”

  
“Your name is Thang?” Bog scowled. Who would name their kid Thang? Two of the kid’s canines were jutting out from under his mouth at odd angles. One upper and one lower. It must have been a nickname?

  
“Y-yes, Sir.” The boy stuffed the biscuit in his mouth.

  
“How old are you?”

  
“15.”

  
Bog scowled at the boy. He was barely 5 feet in height. When Bog was 15, he had been over six feet tall and likely weighed twice as much. That was saying a lot considering how slender Bog’s body was. However, it was all lean muscle. “Where did ye come from? Where are yer parents? Do ye have any family?”

  
The boy lowered his eyes to the table and didn’t answer.

  
Bog took a deep breath. “Were ye with yer Lycean family or a human family?” The boy’s scent told Bog a lot about him. He was not related to any Lycean that was currently in town. He was afraid.

  
“I do not know.” The boy whispered.

  
“How did ye get here?” Bog was trying not to pressure him, but he had a deep desire to know who had beaten him.

  
“Th-there’s a man in the, uh… Red-Red Rooster Inn.” The boy looked up at Bog fearfully, his brown eyes were wide. “He’s an Ar-ar-arcadian. He grabbed me. He’s a very b-big man with b-brown hair, white skin. D-d-driving a new sports car with a small tr-trunk.” Thang’s lower lip began trembling. “He b-beat me on camera, and he was trying to s-s-s-sell me.” The boy’s voice went into a whimper, and Bog’s anger seared through him.

  
“Mom. Take care of Thang and let him rest. I’ll be back in a little bit.” Bog stormed out of the room and grabbed his keys. He didn’t bother with an umbrella or raincoat. He slammed the door and went to his truck parked outside. He knew exactly where he was going, and that Arcadian was going to get a lesson.

-=-=-=-=-

The Red Rooster Inn was located outside of town. An overweight middle-aged man was sitting in his pristine red sports car parked behind the Inn. He was on the phone. “I’m still looking for him. He can’t have gotten far. He wasn’t in that great of shape. I have no idea how he got out. I had him chained up in the hotel room. Yeah, Lyceans don’t come cheap. I’ll find him.”

  
Bog found the car easily enough. He drove around the Inn once and saw the only sporty looking car there. There were only a few people at the Inn, mostly travelers with families. The sports car was alone. Bog parked at the front of the Inn and got out of his truck. He waved to the man working the desk as he walked by. He received a startled look in response. Then the man got up and began closing the shades and curtains in the lobby. He turned off the Vacancy sign.

  
“I can’t find him if you keep on haggling the price.” The Arcadian glared at his phone. “It’s also raining.” The car shook, and the roof squealed in protest as something substantial jumped on top of it. “I’ll call you back.” The man hung up the phone and stared up at the roof for a moment. He reached for the ignition.

  
Something massive jumped off the top of the car and snarled. Then there was a loud popping sound, and the car shuddered. The back right tire went and the car listed to the right. Bog circled the car in his hybrid form, somewhere between a wolf and a man. He walked in a crouch, taking care of the remaining tires one at a time. Then he circled it again to drag his claws through the paint. This was the right car. He could smell faint traces of Thang coming from the trunk.

  
Bog stopped at the driver’s side window and peered inside, shaking his heavy black mane. He snarled, showing his full lupine fury to the occupant, letting him get a good look at him. He had to act quick and be gone after he made his point. Bog’s massive clawed hands smashed into the metal around the door frame, and he pried it open in seconds. The man inside screamed, throwing his hands up to shield himself from the oncoming attack.

  
Bog grabbed the man and hauled him from the car and into the rain. He threw him on the ground, then pounced on him, snarling over him in the most threatening way he could manage.

  
“Ye lost something here, and ye aren’t getting it back.” Bog snapped his jaws together for emphasis. His long canines and jagged teeth were inches from the frightened man’s face. “Now, where is yer wallet? I’m taking yer ID, and if ye ever pass through here again, I will hunt ye down and bite off an arm or a leg. Tonight, it’s just yer car. Get out of this business yer in. Ye don’t mess with Lyceans, ye pathetic pile of meat.”

  
The man whimpered as he fumbled in his pocket. He managed to get his wallet out and tossed it aside. Bog snarled one last time, “Yer ID better be in there, or I will come back for ye.” He waited for an answer.

  
“It is! It is!” The man squealed as one of Bog’s massive clawed hands closed over his shoulder. Bog pressed down for a moment, ripping through the man’s jacket. He released him and grabbed the wallet in his jaws, and vanished into the darkness.

-=-=-=-=-

Bog shifted back into his human form when he was out of sight and walked back to his truck. He got inside, opened the man’s wallet, and took a quick look at the driver’s license inside as well as an Arcadian ID card.

  
He popped open his glove compartment and tossed both inside on top of a pile of driver’s licenses and ID cards. Bog sighed, staring at the collection. Living close to a hunter hub meant that Arcadians passed through often. He or someone else had to handle them if they crossed any lines.

  
So far, none of them had been hunters. It seemed like whatever businesses they were involved in were also not tolerated in the hub. Nobody came after Bog, and hopefully, nobody would. These trespasses could not go unanswered. He had to protect his town and his people, and he couldn’t count on assistance from their neighbors.

  
Bog started his truck. He was going to have to figure out what to do with Thang and hoped his mother wouldn’t want to keep him. He drove off into the rain, hoping a day never came when Arcadians figured out what was going on in his little sanctuary.

**Author's Note:**

> Maybe I'll do a Thang meeting Stuff one later. :D
> 
> This one's a little sad to me, even though it has a good ending. I wanted to do a little short showing the things that Bog has to handle in his little kingdom... and someday, I need to figure out a new name for his town.
> 
> Almost forgot: I haven't mentioned the scanning that Lyceans and Atlanteans can do. It's just a health check they're capable of learning to do to figure out what needs to be healed and where it is.


End file.
